NYC Tanabata Festival

The Japanese American Association of New York hosts an annual stargazing Tanabata Festival every early July. For this event, they partner with the Amateur Astronomers Association of New York to tell the folk tale of Tanabata. The story revolves around the deities Princess Orihime, a weaver, and her lover, Hikoboshi, a cowboy, represented by the stars Vega and Altair, which are prominent in the summer sky. Guests celebrate with the telling of the tale and gazing at the stars through telescopes.